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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
January 13, 2022     Shelton Mason County Journal
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January 13, 2022
 
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Page A—1 6 — Shelton-Mason Journal - Thursday, Jan. 13, lnslee proposes criminalizing lying about election results agesaigmnmgast; Washington State Journal ' One year to the day after the insurrection at the US. Capitol, Gov. Jay Inslee announced he supports legislation criminalizing lying about election results. “It should not be legal in the state of Washington for elected officials or candidates for office to willfully lie about these election results,” he said speaking to reporters in Olympia on Jan. 6. Making false statements about election results without evidence would be classified as a gross mis- demeanor under his proposal, Inslee said. A draft is undergoing finishing touches, but it doesn’t have any sponsors yet. Inslee said he believes the proposal will not violate the First Amendment protecting freedom of speech because it aims to only limit language that incites violence. “The courts have held that speech that promotes violence is something that can be regulated to protect the civil society,” he said. ‘ Speaking forcefully, Inslee argued the legislation is needed to prevent violence, such as last year’s attack on the US. Capitol, which stemmed from ex—President Donald Trump and his allies perpetuating the belief the election was stolen. “The defeated president of the United States had a plan that failed on Jan. 6, but he is right back in the saddle of insurrection,” Inslee said. ' Trump issued a statement earlier in the day reiter- ating his claim the election was stolen, ending, “N ev- er forget the crime of the Presidential Election. Never give up!” Inslee urged members of both parties to denounce three Republican state legislators who attended a three-day “Cyber Symposium” that promised to pro- vide evidence of hacking in the election. Reps. Robert Sutherland, R-Granite _Falls, Vicki Kraft, R-Vancouver, and Brad Klippert, R-Kennewick, used tax—payer money to attend the South Dakota conference hosted by MyPillow founder Mike Lindell. “It is most disturbing to me that we had three Re— publican legislators who went to an organizing effort to continue that insurgency and to continue to sow doubt in our electoral process,” Gov. Inslee said. “This is a cancer in our society.” Additional House and Senate members addressed the anniversary ofthe Capitol attack during a preview of the coming legislative session, which started Mon- day. “I want to be clear, what happened a year ago was indefensible,” House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, D- Tacoma, said.’ She praised Senate Minority Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, and House Minority Leader J .T. Wilcox, R-Yelm, for their condemnation of the Capitol insur- rection, despite criticism from fellow party members. Both Republican leaders called the, violence wrong and unacceptable. Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig said elected members of the Legislature must continue to speak out. . “We need to keep talking about'it,” he said. “So we don’t forget and so we can counter the lies that are. out there.” I The Washington State Journal is a nonprofit news website operated by the WNPA Foundation. To learn more, go to wastatejournal.org. Sheldon: Planning anothermostly virtutal sesssion continued from page A— average person who pays property taxes or is looking to buy a home. This next session we will hear proposals for property tax relief. I also think the Legislature needs to acknowledge its partisan decisions have helped create this affordable-housing crisis, by im— posing land-use restrictions, fees and excessive building—code mandates. I don’t think this day of reckoning is coming in but it needs to come. Q: How do you feel Mason County has handled the CO- VID-.19 pandemic and are you planning on doing anything to address the pandemic during the legislative session? Sheldon: I’m happy that our schools are reopening and that we seem to be adjusting to life with CO- VID. The pandemic has been a ma- jor challenge for public institutions, local health departments, hospitals and the medical community. From the legislative perspective, I think we will see Willingness to provide whatever resources are needed. But the debate about the governor’s emer- gency powers is one we need to have, and I would expect to see renewed efforts this session to pass legisla-. tion to reassert the people’s role in decision-making. Q: Anything else you would like to add? Sheldon: I think the people have been frustrated by the restrictions the COVID pandemic has placed on state and local government proceed- . ings. Here in Olympia, we’re plan— ning another mostly virtual session, in which most members participate by videoconferencing, the public is kept out of the Capitol, and all public testimony in committees is taken Via webcam. It’s not the same as being there. Public participation is limited. Legislators are free to hit the mute button and ignore the public when it suits their purposes, as they did last year when they passed a new state income tax. They were so determined to keep the public out of the debate that they even included a provision in the bill that prevented the public from filing a referendum and over;— turning it in the. last eleétion. In an ordinary year, I think we would have seen weeks of protest on the Capitol steps, the public’s presence would have reminded the Legislature we do i not operate in a vacuum, and it might have caused the Legislature to think twice. One of the biggest challenges wewill face in a post-COVID era is rebuilding public trust, and ensur- ing that the public has a chance to participate needs to be one of our top priorities. Track You r Bus! Locate your bus and know when it’s close. Riding just got easier! MasonTransit.or 9 MASON TRANSIT AUTHORITY MT